Lotus E21 Renault

[korzeniow]

That's because the rest of the staff isn't mounted yet:



Right click for hi-res.

What's really strange is that the senson under the car is in fact duct-taped

[stefan_]

Australia 2013 - FP3 & Q1 (16.03.2013)

[Blackout]

That's because the rest of the staff isn't mounted yet:

http://i.imgur.com/6sNq0en.jpg

Right click for hi-res.

What's really strange is that the senson under the car is in fact duct-taped

I know. I mean the anti-roll bar and the steering rack especially... they were always exposed in the last Enstone cars. But now they're placed inside the monocoque. It's just an observation. A monocoque that is, as you know, veeery similar to the E20 monocoque. E20 and E21 chassis are probably and by far the most similar chassis Enston made since 2002 atleast.

I wonder why they made that change... what could they gain...

[stefan_]

Australia 2013 - Sunday (Q2/Q3/Race) - 17.03.2013

Car unsealed from parc ferme



via Lotus F1 Team

[Gridlock]

A lot more sparks from underneath both Lotus cars than any other car I saw on track? Anyone else notice this?

[MarkedOne8]

A lot more sparks from underneath both Lotus cars than any other car I saw on track? Anyone else notice this?

Yes, they like bottoming out. It was present in the 2012, too.

[Huntresa]

A lot more sparks from underneath both Lotus cars than any other car I saw on track? Anyone else notice this?

Yeah but i think we saw that last year aswell if im not mistaken, atleast during some races. I guess they want to run lower or can run lower with their car design.

[Leon]

A lot more sparks from underneath both Lotus cars than any other car I saw on track? Anyone else notice this?

yeah, very interesting, reminded me the good old days of F1

[Rikhart]

One of the things they upgraded A LOT was their top speed... It was impressive seeing Kimi easily overtake a mercedes (whose tyres were not yet shot), typically one of the fastest in a straight line.

[Neno]

A lot more sparks from underneath both Lotus cars than any other car I saw on track? Anyone else notice this?

yeah, very interesting, reminded me the good old days of F1

also let's not forget Melbourne is quiet bumpy track, but sure Lotus can run car much lower then others. Unlike Red Bulls who's run quiet beat of rake, Lotus have completly different philoshopy in lowering car floor and rear end with soft rear suspension

[munudeges]

Unlike Red Bulls who's run quiet beat of rake, Lotus have completly different philoshopy in lowering car floor and rear end with soft rear suspension

Yes. Running with a reasonable level of rake has been the de jour direction to go in in the past few years but it's that much more difficult to get an exhaust effect to compensate for that now.

[korzeniow]

Talking about rake:

This is from the begining of the race, as you can see Maldonado in the backgroud:




I'm affraid there isn't a much diffrence between Lotus' and RBR's

This is Kimi crossing the line:



On low fuel the rake seems to be lower

[korzeniow]

On the prictures below you can see how front wing's upper flap is adjusted:

[Paul]

Maybe they're running soft heave, that's why the rear seems closer to the ground at speed and there are a lot of sparks...

[skwdenyer]

Talking about rake:

On low fuel the rake seems to be lower

This was notable during the race. This is something which can be achieved with some clever geometry and inter-linked suspension. It is also, I imagine, conceptually possible to design an inerter / heave spring combination which 'ratchets down' over time. Hard to organise if you can't relatively accurately predict the bumps in the track, but not impossible. Perhaps better to arrange it so that a certain number of hard stops (a relatively predictable figure on a per-lap basis) result in a certain altering in ride height / rake...?